We heard from the Saudis that they say if fighting breaks out between Iraq and Kuwait, then whoever dies among the Kuwaitis and the Saudis dies as a martyr.

The questioner : Another question: We hear a lot from the people of Saudi Arabia, the preachers in the mosques, and some whom we think are people of knowledge, saying that if fighting occurs from Iraq—which started the fighting with the Saudis, or Iraq says with the Americans, and they say with the Saudis—of course, if Iraq started this battle, then the fighting from the Saudis to the Iraqis is jihad in the path of Allah, and whoever dies in this battle dies as a martyr. What is your comment on this statement? May Allah reward you.

The Shaykh : In my opinion, we have already answered this before.

The questioner: Yes.

The Shaykh : There is no jihad now, and there is no state declaring jihad in the path of Allah. Rather, there is a state defending its land, and this is a permissible defense, but without committing violations of the Shari'ah. As for saying that it is jihad and that whoever dies in this jihad is a martyr, we do not believe that. If the Kuwaitis had been people of strength, power, and fortitude, and had the readiness for jihad in the path of Allah, and they stood face to face, and the senior leaders did not flee, leaving the young ones under the bombardment of artillery and so on—if the Kuwaiti state stood against the aggressor and intended by that to defend their rights and their country—then in that case, if one of them dies with a sincere intention in these circumstances and under these conditions, it can be said that he dies as a martyr in the path of Allah. But the path of Allah now, no one seeks it and no one mentions it. Rather, it is the path of defending the homeland, until the Saudis have become repeating the word "homeland" like the other Arab countries that call for Arab nationalism. As for jihad in the path of Allah, as for fighting in the path of Allah, it has become a forgotten thing, not only practically but even verbally. So the answer is that, unfortunately, jihad has not been declared by any party. But if a state aggresses against another and the oppressed state defends itself, then whoever is killed in it, his path is Paradise, without doubt, but with the intention of victory for Allah the Exalted and His religion.